Cinque-pace

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A lively dance, the galliard, whose steps were regulated by the number five. obsolete

    "For, hear me, Hero: wooing, wedding, and repenting is as a Scotch jig, a measure, and a cinque-pace: the first suit is hot and hasty, like a Scotch jig, and full as fantastical; the wedding, mannerly-modest, as a measure, full of state and ancientry; and then comes Repentance, and with his bad legs, falls into the cinque-pace faster and faster, till he sink into his grave."

Example

More examples

"For, hear me, Hero: wooing, wedding, and repenting is as a Scotch jig, a measure, and a cinque-pace: the first suit is hot and hasty, like a Scotch jig, and full as fantastical; the wedding, mannerly-modest, as a measure, full of state and ancientry; and then comes Repentance, and with his bad legs, falls into the cinque-pace faster and faster, till he sink into his grave."

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.